Brooks PR Invitational — Foster Takes HS Mile Lead

July 2019by Jeff Hollobaugh

A 4:03.11 propelled Nick Foster to the top of the yearly mile list. (JOHN NEPOLITAN)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, June 15—Michigan runners dominated the distances as the Brooks PR Invitational once again brought together many of the nation’s top preps in a select number of events. Nick Foster (Pioneer, Ann Arbor) controlled the mile from the front after hitting the first half in 2:03.3 behind a rabbit. That positioning helped him avoid a nasty pile-up at 1000m. The Michigan-bound senior finished with a final 440 of 57.4 to win in 4:03.11. “I felt good at the halfway point and decided to go with it,” said Foster, whose time eclipsed the 4:03.70 run by Ryan Oosting (Arlington, Massachusetts) just 2 days earlier as the yearly list leader. Two others broke 4:04: Joe Waskom (Mt Si, Snoqualmie, Washington) ran 4:03.73 and Leo Daschbach (Highland, Gilbert, Arizona) finished 3rd in 4:03.98.

The girls mile went to another Pioneer runner (different coach), Zofia Dudek. The Polish citizen, a junior, churned out a 65.5 final quarter to outleg Taryn Parks (Greencastle-Antrim, Pennsylvania), 4:41.34–4:42.37 after trailing her at the 1500 point, 4:24.15–4:24.23. “When we went through that first 800, I thought it was slow,” said Dudek of the 2:25.4 opener. “But then it all came together.”

Earlier in the day in the 2M, another Michigander, Ericka VanderLende (Rockford) followed the fast lead of Texas soph Brynn Brown (Guyer, Denton) who passed the mile in 4:52.0. Katelynne Hart (Glenbard West, Glenn Ellyn, Illinois) took over after 5 laps, with VanderLende covering the move and waiting until the final lap to move to the front. VanderLende kicked best to move to the top of the outdoor lists with her 9:53.00, a mark that made her the No. 5 prep ever. Hart (9:56.13) and Brown (9:57.54) also broke 10:00. “My legs didn’t feel too great on the warmup but I just kind of pushed that aside and gave it all I had,” said the Michigan recruit. “I had a lot left. I was hoping that they wouldn’t come back and catch me.”

Jeff Hollobaugh is a writer and stat geek who has been associated with T&FN in various capacities since 1987. He is the author of How To Race The Mile. He lives in Michigan where he can often be found announcing track meets in bad weather.

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